Transitional ESOL
Mr. Huang-Dale
Name _____________________________
May 2010
PLOT STUDY – “To Build a Fire” by Jack London
The plot of a story keeps readers interested in what is happening and keeps us guessing
about what will happen next. When the plot reaches the most exciting, dramatic or surprising
point, the climax, the story usually turns in a new direction and leads soon to the end.
Place the letter (a, b, c…) of the quote on the plot line where you think it belongs.
a.
He built his first fire and ate his lunch. The dog enjoyed the warmth of the fire.
b. With frozen hands he tried at last to start another fire. He lit all 70 matches at once and as he watched
them flame and burn he could smell his own hands burning.
c.
It had been a while since anyone had traveled here. The path was covered again with snow. He figured
he could eat his lunch around noon and arrive at the camp by 6 o’clock.
d. By 9 o’clock in the morning the sun was still not up but the sky was perfectly clear. In fact the sun would
not be rising all day.
e. Suddenly, as he walked through soft white snow where there were no signs of a spring, his feet broke
through and he was wet to the knees. He quickly jumped out of the water and back up on top of the
snow.
f.
Now he felt calm and relaxed and began to feel sleepy. Maybe freezing to death wasn’t the worst way to
die after all.
g. He realized that he should have listened to the old man and not traveled alone. If he had a partner on the
trail now his partner could build the fire. But it was only him so he must build a second fire, and not fail
this time.
h. The fear of death finally came to him. At first is was just a thought and then it grew into panic. It was not
just freezing toes and fingers that he was facing it was life or death, and his chances of living were not
good now.
Transitional ESOL
Mr. Huang-Dale
Name _____________________________
May 2010
Write 200-250 words about plot of this story. Use what you know about the characters,
setting and themes to support your ideas about the plot development. Use 1 or 2 quotes to
support your ideas.
How does the author keep our interest and increase the tension in the story? How does the climax
event change the direction of the story? Why are we surprised by the climax? What is surprising
about the very end of the story?